Still Lightfoot, 50 Years Later

By Hubie and Bertie

We cats went to see Gordon Lightfoot in concert last night. (Yes, they allow cats in concert venues, as long as we are masked.) We enjoyed it, even though we knew it was probably the last time we would see him. 

Lightfoot is 83 and hard to understand — unless you know his lyrics by heart. He depends greatly on his backup band of skilled guitarists and percussionists. And at one point during the encore, his wife Kim had to rush onto the stage and give him oxygen. The fact that she was already armed with the mini-tank and burst out from the wings so quickly made it clear that that kind of thing happens all the time.

Why does Gordon Lightfoot still tour? Hard to know, unless it's because diehard fans like us keep turning up. Anyway, while this isn't an entertainment blog, we thought we should say something about the privilege of saying goodbye, at least in person, to a Canadian legend. He didn't perform this song last night — he probably wasn't up to it — but we'll always thank him for the "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" (recorded here in 1972). And for everything else he wrote. We cats PURR.

Adieu, Gordon

By Miss Kubelik

Gordon Lightfoot was more than an entertainer — he personified Canadian identity. So Canada is mourning his death today, and south of the border, we are, too. Losing him and Harry Belafonte in the space of a single week is tough stuff.

Even so, he was 84, and an early devotee of hard living (although he straightened himself up and flew right after a while). But you can't get away from the knowledge that we probably had him longer than we deserved to — and it showed. The last time we saw him perform, he was rail-then, wizened and old. But thanks to his artistry (like this wonderful song), he'll never Be Anything But Beautiful. We cats PURR.

Song For A Fool's Spring Night

They say there are 11 seasons in Canada: Winter, fool's spring, second winter, spring of deception, third winter, mud season, actual spring, summer, false fall, second summer (one week) and actual fall.

Here's Gordon Lightfoot 23 years ago, singing about what is about to be outside our windows (we think). It's snowing in Toronto right now but hasn't quite gotten to Montreal yet. We cats PURR.

The King Is Still Dead

By Sniffles

It's hard for us cats to believe that Elvis Presley has been gone for 35 years. Not because we were big fans (excusez-nous), but because it's just another reminder that our political awakening during the age of Watergate is starting to be, um, a very long time ago.

Add to that the fact that Elvis, had he lived, would be 77 today — not that much older than folks we love, like Ringo Starr, Simon & Garfunkel and Gordon Lightfoot. Of course, he'd be younger than Pete Seeger — but then, everybody is.

But never mind. Suffice to say that despite his influence on the popular culture, we cats never had much use for The King after he stumbled his way into the Oval Office in 1970. His mission was not clear, and Nixon, being Nixon, did not understand. But this photo is the result.

(Looking back, one realizes that Presley is shaking hands with the man who secretly bombed Cambodia and who promised to end the war in Southeast Asia but didn't for going on five years. How many guys died in the meantime? We don't think Nixon cared. But, we digress.)

Thanks, but no thanks, Elvis. We cats will take this instead.

A Quickie: History Made

Congratulations to the city of Chicago for electing its first female/African-American/openly gay mayor. We hope Lori Lightfoot has a smooth transition to the job that Rahm Emanuel inexplicably wanted (and in our opinion, was less than swell at, bless his heart).

May Wisconsinites deliver just as satisfying a verdict in their Supreme Court election tonight, in which a highly competent woman is running against one of the right-wingiest of right-wing pigs. Our paws are crossed. We cats PURR.

"When the Wild Majestic Mountains Stood Alone Against the Sun"

By Sniffles

We cats think that all of Canada just said a collective "up yours" to Rush Limbaugh — by giving Michael J. Fox a huge ovation at the Olympics closing ceremony in Vancouver.

Other than that, as part-time Canadians we cats have to say we were embarrassed by the cheesy awfulness of the closing event. Moose and beaver the size of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade balloons? Please. (Or, should we say, s'il vous plait?)

Since all they had to do was either trot out Gordon Lightfoot to sing the Canadian Railway Trilogy or run this Molson commercial, we cats choose the latter (since it's visual — but we do adore the Trilogy).

And P.S.: Congratulations to Team Canada on the hockey gold medal. Team USA made you fight for it, didn't they? Our allegiances were truly torn, since this was the first winter Olympics in a long time when the American team didn't compete under the reign of The Worst Person Who's Ever Lived. Refreshing!

Well, That Was Fast.

We know we said we were going offline for a while (and probably will still do that), but how could we neglect today's anniversary of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald? Such a metaphor for this week! We HISS at the election, but PURR at Gordon Lightfoot for the artistry he gave us.